Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-02-12
NOT ACCEPTABLE.
President q, vela.d Vetoes the Deepen.
dent Pension Bill.

WASHINGTON, Feb. IL.
The President sent the following message
to the House today, vetoing the dependent
pension bill, He says:
Herewith | return without nv approval
House bill No. l0,457. entitled an act Tor the
relief OF dependent parents and honorablv
discharged soldiers and sailors who are now
disabled and de pendent upon their own labor
for support. This is the first general bill
hat has been sanctioned by Congress since
me close OF the late civil war, permitting
pension to soldiers and sailors who served
! in that war upon the ground of service and
present disability alone, and entire absence
of any injuries received by casualties or the
incidents of such service. While by almost
constant legislation since the close of this
war there has been c. mpensatIon awarded
for every possible injury received as the re-
suit of military service in the Union army,
and while a great number of laws passed for
that purpose have been administered " th
great liberaliiy, and have been supplemented
by hume rous private acts to reach special
cases, there he's not until now been an avowed
departure for the principle thus tar adhered
to respecting Union soldiers. 1t is mistake
to suppose that service pensions such as are
permitted by the second section of the bill
| under consideration are new to our legisla-
ton. In 1878, So years after the close of the
revolutionary war, these were granted to sol
diers in that struggle, conditional upon ser
vice nDtil the end Of the war or for term of
not less than nine months, and requiring
every beneficiary under the act to be
one ''who is or thereafter by reason of his
reduce circumstances in life shall he in
nee of assistance from his country for sup
Il 4
passed in 1928 requiring service until The
close of the Revolutionary war, and still an
other passed in 1892 provided for those per
sons not includ, d in the previous statute but
who served two years at some time during
the war, and giving a proportional sum to
those who had served not less than six
months. service pension law was passed
Tor the bene fit of soldiers of 1912 in the year
1871, fittysix years after the
close Of that war, which required
only sixty days service and another was
passed in 1873, sxty-three years after the
war. requiring only IA days service The
service pension bill passed at this session OF
Congress, 80 yeass after the close OF the
Mexican war for the benz fit OF soldiers OF
that war, rs quirtd either some degree of dis
ability or dependercy or that the claimant
under its PROVISIONS should be slXty-tw .
| wears OF age, ana IN eHntr case snoulu nave
served sixty days or been actually engaged
| in battle 1t will be seen that the bill, of
| 1918 and the Mexican pension bill being thus
| passed nearer the close of the wars in which
| its heneficiares were engaged than the oth-
ers, one 80 wears ard the other 80 years at-
ter the termination of such wars, it embraced
persons who were quite advanced in age, as
sumed to be comparatively few in number and
whose circumstanc dependence and
disabilities were clearly defined and
could be quite easily nxed'
The number of enllstments in the revolution
arv war is stated to be 800 79i and in the
war of 1912. $40 622, but it is estimated on
account Of repeated re-enlisimeGts the nun
Der of individuals engaged in these wars did
not exceed one half the number representa- d
by these figures. In the war with Mexico
the number of enlis nts is reported to be
| Il2 230, which represents greater proper
ton of indivi iduals engaged than the reported
.Alistments in the two previous wars lhe
| number of pensions granted under all laws to
! soldiers of the revolution is given at go 269
to soldiers of the war of 1912 and their Wild
ows &C, ,I73, and to soldiers OF the Mex
war and their widows up to June 80, 1850.
1919 The war of the rebellion terminated
nearly 90 years ago and the number of men
urnishtd d for its prosecution is stated to be
p 77o 403 Five hundred and sixty one thou
| sand five hundred aud seventy-s'x pensions
have been granted from the year 1861 to june
| 80, 1886. and more than 2600 pensioners have
been added to the roll by pr ivate acts passe6
to meet the cases.